Scented fireplace fuel

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to scented wooden fireplace fuel comprising logs of predetermined length upon which a durable coating is applied in which an essential oil is encapulated which has a pleasant scent. The coating may be a lacquer or similar organic vehicle which is capable of minimizing dissipation of the scent of said essential oil while being stored or while the log is being burned. If desired, the logs may also be impregnated with certain pyrotechnic chemicals to impart attractive visual colors to the flames of the burning logs, as well as also being treated with a fungicide and insecticide solution to neutralize the logs from vermin while being stored.

I United States Patent 1 3,660,055 Haller [4 1 May 2, 1972 54] SCENTED FIREPLACE FUEL 1,672,463 6/1928 Morczewski ..44/1 72 Inventor: James Gilbert Haller, 50 s. Prince Sn, g gfi'ggg 2 32? g a "22 Lancaster p 17 03 1 9 10 e /l [22] Filedl J 1970 Primary ExaminerC. F. Bees [211 App]. Nu: 47,628 Attorney-C. Hercus Just Related US. Application Data 57] ABSTRACT [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 810,121, Mar. 25, This invention relates to scented wooden fireplace fuel com- 1969, abandoned. prising logs of predetermined length upon which a durable coating is applied in which an essential oil is encapulated U.S. .Q E, has a leasant scent The coating may be a lacquer or [51] Int. Cl. ..Cl0l 9/00 Simiiar organic vehicle which is capabie f minimizing dissipa [58] Field of Search ..44/6, 10, 16,41, 1 R, l E, tion of the scent of Said essentiai oi] while being Stored or 44/25; 1 17/59 149 while the log is being burned. If desired, the logs may also be impregnated with certain pyrotechnic chemicals to impart at- [56] References and tractive visual colors to the flames of the burning logs, as well UNITED STATES PATENTS as also being treated with a fungicide and insecticide solution to neutralize the logs from vermin while being stored. 3,297,419 l/l967 Eyre, Jr. ..44/6 3,395,002 7/1968 Winnicki et a1 ..44/6 2 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAY 2 m2 IIIIIIIIIIIIIII I I IIII/III/IIIII III! 1 INVENTOR JAMES G. HAL LE R ATTORNEY SCENTED FIREPLACE FUEL This application is a continuation-in-part of US. application Ser. No. 810,121, filed Mar. 25, 1969, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Although many fireplaces are used to furnish heat to rooms in which they are located, much sentimental enjoyment is derived from watching a fireplace burn. Enjoyment of this type can be increased by having a pleasant aroma emanate from the fireplace. In addition, pleasure is also derived from dispersing crystals of certain chemical salts on the fireplace fuel while it is burning to provide aesthetic, visual efiects.

Desirable scents, for example, are those which emanate from fires in which certain aromatic woods such as relatively green pine of the high resinous types, cedar and apple wood are being burned. Pleasant odors also arise from certain spicetype woods, such as sandalwood and cinnamon bark, rose species, and the like. The odors are actually derived from the essential oils present in the'wood and bark of the kinds of woods referred to. However, when such woods become dry, relatively little odor emanates from the same when they are burned. However, woods of this type are either difficult to obtain in relatively green condition and, in general, they are reasonably expensive as compared with certain other types of cheaper wood, such as what might be termed scrap wood that has no noticeable odor when burned, especially when such wood is dried or weathered.

Wood which is referred to as cheaper scrap wood can be derived from a number of sources such as limbs of trees resulting from lumbering operations, dead trees found in many wood lots which are still standing or in regard to which decay has not materially advanced, and various other sources. A reasonably abundant supply of this type of wood is available but efforts to provide logs of this so-called scrap type with a desirable fragrance or scent have not been successful heretofore.

Such prior efforts have included the soaking of such logs in solutions in which certain desirable essential oils have been dissolved. The outer portions of the logs will absorb a certain amount of such essential oils when dissolved in appropriate vehicles. Following storage of relatively few days, however, it is found that the desirable fragrance or scent provided by such essential oils has substantially entirely dissipated. It is believed that at least one reason for this is that either the physical nature of the logs and/or the chemicals present therein tend to react with or otherwise transform the essential oils into a product which eliminates the pleasant fragrance or scent thereof.

Certain prior attempts have been'made to provide certain wood products, especially for use in outdoor cooking to provide desirable flavors in the cooked products such as meat products having a so-called smokey, barbecued flavor. US. Pat. No. 3,338,690 to Calhoun is directed to one such product but no suggestion of the pleasant scent of burning green timber of the types referred to above is found in such patent.

Another US. Pat., No. 3,395,003, to Alexander is directed to making paper sheets from wood pulp containing a small percentage of hickory and the major portion comprising pine or other common paper-making wood, for use as a fire starter for charcoal cooking. However, there is no suggestion of how fireplace logs of a common source may be rendered fragrant when burned.

Scented wax candles have long been known, such as described in US. Pat. No. 1,672,463, to Morczewski, but the scent of candles of this type is not of a very lasting quality, especially if the wax is thin as is economically required if such a coating were applied to logs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the present invention is to form scented and otherwise aesthetic type fireplace fuel preferably in the form of inexpensive logs which may be somewhat of a waste or scrap nature that have been cut into predetermined lengths and to which a coating is' applied over the entire exterior surface of each log, preferably by dipping the same in a solution of such coating, a desirable scent being included in said coating in the form of one or more essential oils which preferably are dissolved or encapsulated within the coating so as to provide a mildly pleasant scent when the logs are in a fireplace or woodbasket before being burned but minimize the dissipation of the aroma or scent until the log is being-burned.

It isanother object of the invention to apply a coating to such logs of asufficient thickness and, correspondingly, have the essential oil or oils dispersed throughout the entire body of the coating so that the emanation of'the pleasant aroma or scent will continue fora substantial period of time prior to the burning of as well as while it is being burned inza fireplace.

A further object of the invention is, additionally, to select a coating from a suitable class of lacquer-type materials which are capable of preserving the encapsulated essential oils against dissipation for long periods of time, until it is desired to burn the same. s 7

Details of the invention and the foregoingobjects are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing comprising a part thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary group of logs embodying the present invention and arranged in a convenient bundle for merchandising the same.

FIG. 2 is a'fragmentary, enlarged longitudinal sectional view through a portion of one end of an exemplary log embodying the principles of the present invention,

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is highly adapted to be applied to wooden logs but, if desired, the invention also may be applied to scrap lumber such'as short lengths of wooden beams as well as other forms of artificial fireplace fuel having a wooden base, including compressed shavings and wood chips suitably bonded and compressed together, for example. Essentially, the present invention may be applied to any fuel of this type which is capable of receiving a coating of the various types described hereinafter. For purposes of convenience, however, the accompanying drawing illustrates logs of predetermined lengths upon which the bark remains. The invention, however, may be applied to logs which have been debarked, is desired.

Referring to FIG. 1, a group of logs 10, in addition to being substantially of the same length, also preferably are reasonably of similar diameter so as to facilitate packaging or otherwise merchandising the same. It will be understood that the fireplace logs embodying'the present invention are of a somewhat exotic nature and thus, in general, command a price in excess of conventional fireplace logs of similar size, for example. Accordingly, it is feasible to merchandise logs which have been treated in accordance with the present invention in the form of a bundle of convenient size such as that illustrated in exemplary manner in FIG. 1.

The logs are retained conveniently in such bundle form by a plurality of wire or heavy twine bonds 12, several of which tightly encircle the bundle of logs at longitudinally spaced locations. Suitable loops 14 are formed in the bonds 12 adjacent the topmost log, for example, and a simple, inexpensive baillike carrying handle 16 is connected to the loops 14 to facilitate handling the bundle. As a further merchandising feature, the bundle of logs maybe encased within appropriate wrapping material, preferably of a transparent nature, such as sheet synthetic resin wrapping material. In addition to maintaining the logs in clean condition until being consumed in use, such wrapping also further assists in minimizing the dis- As indicated hereinabove, particularly to maintain to a minimum the cost of the fireplace logs embodying the present invention, soicalled waste or scrap-type logs are utilized such as those arising from lumbering operations and otherwise. The logs may readily be cut to desired lengths by suitable power saws and, at least under most circumstances, though not necessarily, it is envisioned that the logs will have the bark 20 retained thereon. Also, another source of such logs comprises dead trees standing or lying in wood lots in which decay preferably has not advanced appreciably, including trees felled by storms and from ice damage.

Either before or after the logs have been cut to length in accordance with the preferred process of the present invention, they are permitted to dry to season or weather" a reasonable period of time. Following this, a preferred preliminary step of the process to conform to certain governmental regulations, consists in immersing the logs within a mineral or other solvent solution of an appropriate fungicide and/or insecticide nature to render the logs neutral by killing the spores of fungus and active or inactive insects within the logs to eliminate vermin therefrom. Such immersion occurs for a reasonable period of time adequate to render the logs neutral, following which they are dried. A number of appropriate fungicide and insecticide materials are available for the foregoing purposes and the invention is not restricted to the use of any particular one. However, without restriction thereto, copper naphthenate is one which has been found to be highly suitable for this purpose.

If it is desired that the fireplace log fuel comprising the present invention also shall have desirable aesthetic visual properties such as the flames which consume the logs being of one or more different colors, in addition to theconventional yellowish color of burning logs, the next step in the preferred process of the invention comprises immersing the logsfor a suitable period of time in a solution of pyrotechnic compounds and materials for a period of time adequate to enable the logs to absorb a desirable and practical amount of such compounds, following which the logs are removed from the solutions, drained, and dried. A number of pyrotechnic compounds are suitable for use in this step of the procedure. For example, water solutions of any of the following are operable: copper chloride, strontium nitrate, lithium chloride, and many others.

The most significant and essential step of the process embodying the present invention comprises the application of a durable coating 22 preferably to all exterior surfaces of each log, said coating being illustrated in FIG. 1 in exaggerated manner. Said coating, in accordance with the preferred concept of the present invention, is substantially of uniform thickness, particularly when applied to logs having relatively smooth bark, for example, or logs which have been debarked. [f the bark upon the logs is relatively rough, providing a coating of substantially uniform thickness is difficult and is not essential.

The coating is of a fluid nature and may be applied either by dipping the logs in a body of such coating and retaining them immersed for a satisfactory period of time before withdrawal, or the coating may be applied by spraying the logs with an appropriate spray gun of suitable type, not illustrated, or by manually painting the same with the suitable brush to provide a reasonably thick layer or plurality of layers of such coating.

The coating 22 may be of a number of different kinds, of an organic nature and generally of the class known as lacquer or a synthetic resin or plastics solution. Many types of lacquers and synthetic resin solutions are suitable. It is not intended to restrict the present invention to any specific kind of coating of such types except that it must be'capable of retaining a high percentage of the aromatic values of selected essential oil or oils in the coating. Highly suitable synthetic resins, plastics and other organic vehicles which have been found operable are cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate-propionate, cellulose acetate-butrate, poly (vinyl butral), poly (vinyl chlorideacetate) and poly styrene. Selected resins or other organic compounds are dissolved in certain vehicles for suitable application to the logs or the like, as explained hereinafter. Various proportions of resin or compound and vehicle may be employed, depending upon the thickness and extent of the coating desired. Also, the coating preferably is a type which can be air-dried.

To produce a synthetic resin or other organic compound coating, which contains a fragrance for application to the surface of a relatively preferably cheap, non-fragrant type of wood, the following procedure may be used. The selected organic vehicle is added to a sufficient quantity of a suitable non-aqueous polar or non-polar solvent, such as acetone, naphtha, an appropriate alcohol, or the equivalent thereof, to produce a liquid solution of suitable-consistency to enable it to be applied as a coating to the surface of the logs, either by dipping, spraying, brushing or otherwise. Successive coatings may be applied until a desired thickness is produced. The amount of solvent employed is minor, by weight, relative to the organic vehicle.

The coating 22 is for purposes of imparting a desirable, somewhat exotic fragrance or scent which emanates from the logs both when burning and while being stored prior to being used. The fragrance or scent is maintained against any appreciable dissipation into the atmosphere due to the following aspect of the invention.

Suitably dissolved or encapsulated, preferably throughout the entire body of the coating 22, is an essence selected from a number of suitable materials, primarily comprising essential oils. While certain types of perfumes could be used, it is unnatural to find wood fuel, even in green condition, from which conventional floral and other sweet perfume odors emanate while being burned. Accordingly, it 'is preferred that the essential oils to be employed in accordance with the present inventionshall consist of those which are more commonly found naturally in wood products in the green state, such as in the pine family: pine, cedar, balsam, fir and redwood. In the fruit and nut or the rose family: apple, cherry, lemon, citron, peach, almond and the like; and other woods such as sandalwood and sassafras, of the laurel family. In the pine family, the preferred are those which are highly resinous such as the long leaf yellow pine and the slash pine" from which rosin and turpentine are obtained. Essential oils having these scents are commercially available.

It has been found that a desired essence, fragrance or scent of the type to be obtained from the aforementioned and similar essential oils will result from utilizing between 1 and 2 percent by weight of essential oils in the plastic lacquer, synthetic resin or other organic vehicles referred to above. This range of percentage-of essential oils in the vehicle or coating body of any of the types referred to has been found to be suitable to produce a desired amount of fragrance or scent when the coated logs are being consumed by flames so as to liberate a pleasant amount of the scent and cause it to emanate from the fire, without producing an objectionable intensity of such fragrance or scent.

In addition to the percentage of the essential oil contained in the coating vehicle or body, the amount of fragrance or scent which will emanate from the logs prior to and while being burned will depend upon the thickness of the coating. it should be obvious that the thicker the coating, the stronger will be the scent emanating from the logswhen burning and the duration of the scent likewise will be longer.

After the logs have been treated by some or all of the procedural steps described above, and the coating has been permitted to thoroughly dry, the logs may be suitably bundled or otherwise packaged for merchandising, one example of which is illustrated in FIG. 1. If the processing of the logs has included the step of imparting the pyrotechnical compounds thereto, in addition to the pleasant aroma or scent emanating from the fire when the logs are burning, a pleasant, aesthetic, varicolored visual effect is produced when the logs are burnmg.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in its several preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as illustrated and described.

lclaim:

1. Scented and aesthetic fireplace fuel comprising a natural wooden log of a length suitable to be burned in a fireplace to emit a pleasant aroma, said log having a coating of substantially uniform thickness applied to the exterior thereof and firmly adhering thereto, said coating comprising an organic vehicle selected from the class consisting of cellulose acetate,

cellulose acctate-propionate, cellulose acetrate-butrate, polyvinyl butral, polyvinyl chloride-acetate, and polystyrene dissolved in sufficient organic solvent to produce a liquid solution of said vehicle, and an essential oil dissolved within said vehicle and derived from trees and shrubs selected from the class consisting of pine, cedar, balsam, fir, redwood, apple, cherry, lemon, citron, peach, almond, sandalwood and sassafras and having a pleasant fragrance which is dispelled as a pleasant odor when the log is burned and while being stored.

2. The fireplace fuel according to claim 1 in which said essential oil is between substantially l and 2 percent by weight of the coating. 

2. The fireplace fuel according to claim 1 in which said essential oil is between substantially 1 and 2 percent by weight of the coating. 